Man, 29, shocked when 'heart attack' turns out to be 'vaping injury'

• Jordan Snowdon, from Sunderland, swapped cigarettes for e-cigs five years ago 
• READ MORE: Give up vaping if you want children, alarming study suggests

A man who feared he was suffering a heart attack was shocked to learn his vaping addiction was to blame instead.

Jordan Snowdon, from Sunderland, was hospitalised with a collapsed lung, which left him suffering stabbing pains in his chest.

Doctors reckon the vape was responsible for his terrifying ordeal, which left the 29-year-old fearing he would die.

Mr Snowdon, a fisherman, has been told it could take him months or even years to recover fully.

He says he will never vape or smoke again and is urging anyone else hooked on the cheap gadgets to quit.

Jordan Snowdon, from Sunderland, was hospitalised with a collapsed lung, which left him suffering stabbing pains in his chest. Doctors reckon the vape was responsible for his terrifying ordeal, which left the 29-year-old fearing he would die. Mr Snowdon, a fisherman, has been told it could take him months or even years to recover fully

He says he will never vape or smoke again and is urging anyone else hooked on the cheap gadgets to quit. In pursuit of a less harmful alternative to smoking, Mr Snowdon swapped cigarettes for e-cigs five years ago

He initially used e-cigs sporadically as he enjoyed the habit. But from 2022, his habit intensified out of boredom. At the height of Mr Snowdon’s addiction, he would never be seen without a vape in his hand and had no intention of quitting

In pursuit of a less harmful alternative to smoking, Mr Snowdon swapped cigarettes for e-cigs five years ago.

He initially used e-cigs sporadically as he enjoyed the habit. But from 2022, his habit intensified out of boredom.

At the height of Mr Snowdon’s addiction, he would never be seen without a vape in his hand and had no intention of quitting.

But in March, while at his mother’s house, he woke to a ‘sharp pain’ in his chest that left him struggling to breathe.

Recalling the moment his life changed, he said: ‘I’d gone to my mum’s house that morning and I felt tired so I went and laid down on the bed in my old room and dropped off to sleep.

‘I woke up with a sharp pain. It felt like someone had gripped my heart so I shouted for my mum.

READ MORE: From headaches, flatulence and now heart failure, ALL the health complications linked to vaping – and why it’s NOT as safe as you might think 

‘I couldn’t talk or breathe properly and I hit the floor and I thought I was having a heart attack.’

Mr Snowdon added: ‘I rang 111 and my heart was racing. It felt like my heart was being squeezed and I couldn’t breathe.

‘I was so scared and I thought I was going to die at this point.’

Scans taken at Sunderland Royal Hospital revealed he had suffered a collapsed right lung — pneumothorax.

It occurs when there’s a hole in the lung through which oxygen escapes. As such, air becomes trapped in the space between the lung and the chest wall.

Usually, collapsed lungs are caused by gunshot wounds, rib fractures and ultra-high altitude trekking. Vaping is, however, heavily linked to the injury.

Mr Snowdon needed the trapped air drained from his chest.

He was then transferred to Newcastle Freeman Hospital where surgeons performed keyhole surgery.

Mr Snowdon added: ‘I was told I needed an emergency X-ray straight away and they (doctors) confirmed my right lung had collapsed.

‘They (the doctors) said it was one of the worst lung collapses they had ever seen.

‘They described it as when you get a crisp packet and suck it in, that is what my lung looked like.

‘I mentioned vaping and they said I fit all three of the categories for a spontaneous lung collapse. I’m tall, skinny and I’m a smoker.

‘They [the doctors] said this happened because of vaping. I started crying my eyes out when I heard that my lung had collapsed.

Scans taken at Sunderland Royal Hospital revealed he had suffered a collapsed right lung — pneumothorax. It occurs when there’s a hole in the lung through which oxygen escapes. As such, air becomes trapped in the space between the lung and the chest wall. Mr Snowdon needed the trapped air drained from his chest. Pictured, Mr Snowdon after the 6ml drain was inserted

‘I’m a carp angler and I love fishing as it helps my mental health and I thought I’d never be able to do this again.’

Experts have previously suggested people who are tall and thin and experienced a period of rapid growth as a child, are at higher risk of developing a hole in the lung.

This is because of the added stretch exerted on the lungs by a sharp growth spurt, they claim.

Following his operation, Mr Snowdon also had a 12ml suction drain inserted into his chest to help keep his lung inflated.

After discharging himself on April 15, he is now recovering at home.

He said: ‘What happened is life changing. It’s devastating. I love being outdoors.

‘I’m still waiting for it [my lung] to heal two weeks after my operation. They said it could take weeks, months or even years, it just depends.

‘I have not smoked for three weeks now and they said if I do it will cause infection.

‘People need to put the vapes down and stop smoking. It’s a fashion sense at the moment.

‘People are just vaping because their friends are or they just like the flavour.

‘They are not looking at the hazards of it. If I knew this could have happened I would never have touched a vape in my life.’

Last month the Government moved one step closer to axing disposable vapes as part of a crackdown on youth vaping after years of impassioned pleas to tackle what has been dubbed an ‘epidemic’.

Under the proposals, which MPs voted to back by 383 to 67, e-cigs are expected to be limited to just four flavours, sold in plain, tobacco-style packaging and displayed out of sight of kids.

As of February, a total of 1,009 reactions to vapes have been recorded by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Here are the 10 most common reports

Additionally, new ‘on the spot’ fines will also be brought in for shops illegally selling vapes to children.

Soaring usage rates in children have sparked fears that younger generations are sleepwalking into a public health crisis.

Data shows one in five kids has tried vaping while the number of youngsters using the devices has tripled in the past three years.

This is despite it being illegal for under-18s to be sold a vape.

E-cigs allow people to inhale nicotine in a vapour — which is produced by heating a liquid.

Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco, nor do they produce tar or carbon — two of the most dangerous elements and partly why they are considered a safer alternative.

The long-term effects of vaping, however, still remain a mystery.

Last month MailOnline also revealed the number of adverse side effects linked to vaping reported to UK regulators has now eclipsed 1,000, with five of them fatal.

All five deaths were linked to respiratory and cardiovascular health problems.

Some reported digestive issues such as diarrhoea or flatulence, and even one case of rectal haemorrhaging, linked to their vape use.

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